You could buy a picturesque home at popular British seaside town for just £1 – how to get your hands on one
A PICTURESQUE home at a popular British seaside town could be yours for just £1.
Cornwall Council has approved the sale of the 11 flats in Looe, worth £640,000 each, to help ease a housing crisis.
The scheme, which will see the flats being sold to a community land trust to avoid costly maintenance, has been most welcomed by residents.
Councillors said the deal meant the properties would remain as affordable housing for local people.
One resident who has lived in the flats for more than a decade described the project as wonderful.
Anne Edwards said she was pleased she would be able to stay at the coastguard flats, adding the scheme would help young people “who didn’t have a hope in hell of getting a place in Looe”.
“It will be lovely for youngsters to have somewhere to start their lives and I’m all for it,” she said.
Another tenant, Christine Hodgson, said it was wrong that some houses in Looe were empty for long periods because they were second homes.
Ms Hodgson said she wanted the project to “happen across the country” to help other areas.
The new owner of the flats, the Three Seas Trust, said it was aiming to spend about £1.5m making the Grade II-listed homes habitable, funded through government grants and a community share scheme.
The cottages will provide 11 one to two-bedroom properties, with rents at about £400 per month.
Across Cornwall, there are 26,000 people on the housing waiting list.
Olly Monk, the county councillor responsible for housing, said the project in Looe was a creative solution for an area in “desperate need” of new affordable homes.
The village of Cawsand in south-east Cornwall saw a similar project three years ago.
The trust bought three council-owned coastguard cottages and renovated them.
Cawsand tenant Rosie Tates said the number of second homes in the village meant local people struggled to live where they grew up.
“When this came up, it was perfect.
“We’re really lucky to live here.” she said.
With house prices higher than they’ve ever been, many first time buyers are struggling to get themselves on the property ladder.
But there is help for first-time buyers if you know where to look.
Through the government’s First Homes scheme, you may be able to buy a home for between 30% and 50% less than its market value.
You can buy a new build home from a developer, or a property from someone who’s used the scheme before, and is now selling.
You can also buy a home through the shared ownership scheme if you can’t afford all of the deposit and mortgage payments for a home that meets your needs.
You buy a share of the property and pay rent to a landlord on the rest.